Various types of liquid dispensers are known and are in common usage. Some dispensers, including some pitchers, are capable of producing sound as liquid is poured, or as liquid is poured from a (fully or partially) liquid-filled pitcher and then as the pitcher is moved from a pouring position back to an upright position. The movement of liquid and air relative to one another during and after pouring produces sound as a result of the configuration of the interior volume and the contour of the internal surface of the pitcher. One such sound producing pitcher is sold under the trademark GURGLEPOT.
Dispensers for dispensing oils, liquor and other liquids or flowable materials typically comprise a stopper having an opening or pour spout for dispensing oil, liquor or the like, and a separate opening or tube allowing air to enter the container interior as liquid is dispensed, or as the liquid displacement or position of liquid in the container interior changes.
Liquid dispensers having an air introduction tube with a sound generating mechanism for mounting to container openings are known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,654, for example, discloses a liquid dispenser having a pouring nozzle and a separate air introduction tube that produces an agreeable sound when liquid is poured from the container. The diameter and length of the air introduction tube may be selected to produce intermittent or pulsating air flow when liquid is poured and it is this air flow, in combination with a sound producing mechanism such as a small hole or holes, or a reed, that produces desired sounds. U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,104 discloses a spout mountable on a liquid container with a T-shaped passage for generating bird noises. The outer configuration of the spout may be provided in the form of a bird.
Ceramic sake pitchers having a bird-like outer configuration and incorporating an internal sound-producing mechanism were also produced. The sound chamber was formed as an internal, donut-shaped hollow ceramic element with a central air passage. The beak of the bird forms a pour spout and a passage in the back of the head provides air flow to the sound-producing mechanism, while the body of the bird provides the liquid reservoir.